Keeley Electronics

Intro

This modded pedal gives you a fantastic amount of control over the sound of the repeats.  You'd be hard pressed to find another delay pedal that gives you this amount of creativity.

The 3 Way switch offers you two settings that give you an Analog Feel to the repeats.  They are softer and more soothing to the ear.  This can inspire playing as you get a more natural response.  One setting offers a slight rounding of the high end frequency response.  The second offers you a bit more roll off that sounds very good, in fact I prefer this one for nearly everything.  Lastly, you can select the stock DD-3 sound so you can get very long repeats of crystal clear clarity.

The next part of the modded pedal is really where things happen!  Keeley has taken the Direct Out and made it a TRS cable jack.  This becomes your effects loop.  The Direct output no longer functions with our mod.  So, no two amp setup with this pedal, get our Framptone Amp Switcher ;-) !!!
From the pictures you can see a Chorus pedal connected to the loop.  You original guitar signal stays clean and unaffected.  The repeats however get more and more "chorused"!!!!  Insert mulitple effects and you get more modulation heaven!  Use a autowah and each repeat gets more and more "wahed"...use a pitch shifter and each repeated sound gets more "pitch shifted"!

This offers a very subtle and SUPER useful array of sounds.  You are not in a wash of effects, you are creating music with a perfect amount of modulation or other effects applied to your delay.  You can get beautiful waterfall sounds.  Slight phasing and flanging sounds incredible and again inspires you to make more music!  Add another delay to the lop and you get a cool asynchronous repeat that turns to a cool stutter and motor-boating.  Add a tremolo and you can get some great swells, almost a slow gear effect!

What is really interesting is comparing the use of these same effects in series, instead of the loop....not very musical as things get too "effected".  This is a perfect solution for creating your "own" sounds and tones generally only possible in studios or having your own engineer on hand!

Ease of Use:
Very easy to use all the normal settings work on the DD-3 as before, but then Keeley adds a 3 way switch that you can select the normal clean repeats, or slighty dirty analog, or very analog decay type repeats. The line out has been converted to accept a TRS cable that is included with the pedal from Keeeley. It alows you to set up as many effects in the Keeley DD-3 Loop. I use a phaser and chorus and set them pretty weird and by them selves on those settings would not sound very nice. However the Level Control and Feedback control will alow you to dial in just the amount you want and your guitar tone be it clean or mean or just right out fuzzy will set atop the looped effects..they sound fantastic and are in the mix deep..but the guitar is on top of them..man it's kind ahard to explain but super easy to set up and use. It is fun and easy to use and if you already have a DD-3 it really takes no homework. Just watch the feedback control because it will do runaway repeats with your looped effects as well.

Sound Quality:
I use a fat Strat and a LP and play acoustic. This will work for all of them. Keeley upgrades the tone and the cleans sound wonderful, the switch to make them sound analog really works and the repeats have that dirty breakup that I like, but since she is digital you can get long repeats. Best of both worlds..but then enter the dragon with the loop function. Simply put any type of effect you like I have put analog and didgital delays to get crazy and it sounds surreal. My Zvex Ooh Wah along with my Phasers, Chorus and Flangers and even a reverb sound amazing..the repeats will die and blend into the effect in the loop. I have ran the guitar clean and distorted into the DD-3 with excellent results. If you want regular delay action just turn off the effects in the loop. I love space rock, blues and textured acoustic music this fits the bill and is one of thee most musical effects ever thought of because you can hear the guitar be clean or mean and still hear your chossed loop effect as well. If you own a bunch of cheap noise makers this pedal will bring them back to life.

Reliability:
Robert Keeley serves his customers with a smile and a deep commitment to quality and old fashioned service. Boss makes road worth gear! So I am fairly confident the pedal will outlast me!!

Customer Support:
Doing business with Keeley since 1999 and my tone has improved 100%.
I have a lot of Keeley's mods and own designs on my pedal board.
Robert is first class and a true effect icon in the world of good tone and a super nice guy to boot. He somehow makes you feel important even though I know he takes care of the rock stars and such. Really the best in class and product!

Overall Rating:
Been playing guitar since 1972 so I'm old but love Space rock, blues, and classic rock..but have learned some newer material as well. I gig out a bunch and this effect is on the board and the blue led is shinning. It does more than what I've been able to tell you because it's only limited by your imagination and of course effect collection. The loop was a perfect idea for getting some new Floydism tones and when not using the loop you got a digital delay that can sound analog with lots of delay time...really a nice ride!
The mod by itself is $80 and worth it...Keeley even sends you the TRS cable..get this one if you can you will be having a blast within 30 seconds after you flip it on! Robert and his crew Rock!

For sound sample visit: www soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=190415

History

The early DD-3 is the same pedal as the DD-2. Because of the price drop on DRAM in 1986 it was possible to produce the pedal much cheaper. Dropping the price didn't look so good so it was decided to re-release the DD-2 under the name DD-3 instead. The front of the pedal got a face lift with the re-release.

Version differences

There are two main versions of the DD-3 that look almost identical. The DD-3 was redisigned with a new DSP chip around 1990. The new version is called the DD-3A. The DC socket was at the same time replaced with the PCB mounted small type and this can be used to identify which version of the DD-3 you have. The design change happened before production was moved from Japan to Taiwan so if your DD-3 is made in Taiwan it is most definitely a DD-3A. The latest version of the DD-3 is using surface mounted components and the PCB layout is completly redesigned from the DD-3A. The internal design is however very similar.

Boss Guitar Effects Guide Book vol.9 (1993):
This compact pedal provides a digital delay effect with outstanding quality equivalent to that of a dedicated rack mount delay unit. In addition to three delay time modes, a Delay Time control is furnished, giving you speedy, precise adjustment of delay time continuously within a range of 12.5ms to 800ms. The hold function repeats the delay indefinitely.

Using the DD-3

To produce a twin guitar sound: Set the mode knob to 200ms. Turn the F.BACK control to MIN to get a single delay. (Fig 1: E.Level 10, F.Back 0, D.Time 5, Mode M 200ms)
For a reverb-type effect: Great for starting a song with a hard rock guitar riff. Delay time ranges from 50 to 200ms. (Fig 2: E.Level 5, F.Back 7, D.Time 5, Mode M 200ms)
For a sitar-like effect: Turn the F.BACK control to MAX, then connect a cord to the direct out and leave the other out disconnected. (Fig 3: E.Level 5, F.Back 10, D.Time 5, Mode S 50ms)

Specifications

Controls: E.Level, F.Back, D.Time, 4-way Mode switch
Connectors: Input, Output, Direct Out, AC Adaptor
Current Draw: 55 mA (DC 9V, D.Time control at center)
Weight: 450 g (0.99 lb.)
A/D Conversion: 12-bit logarithmic compression
D/A Conversion: 12-bit logarithmic compression
Input Impedance: 1Mohm (FET Input)
Residual Noise Level: -95dBm (IHF-A)
Recommended Load Impedance: 10kOhm or greater
Delay Time: 12.5 to 800ms
Recommended AC Adaptor: PSA Series
Labels

Blue - Made In Japan
Blue - Made In Taiwan
Pink - Made In Taiwan
Dark Gray - Made In Taiwan
The DD-3 was sold from August 1986 to present.